5 Tips to Secure LockScreen in iOS 12 on iPhone and iPad

Recently, we published a comprehensive article about how to strengthen the security and privacy of the iPhone. I contributed to the making of the story. While playing my part, I thought why not make a small piece about the quick ways to secure Lock screen on iPhone running iOS 12. I picked it up because I believe the LS has to be given a bit more attention for preventing snooping.

Not yet on iOS 12? Most of the below-mentioned tips are generic and can be brought into effect on the previous versions of the iOS as well. One more thing worth noting upfront is that most folks might not need them. However, those who always want to keep uncertainty at arm’s length would find them right on the money. So, jump over only if the security of your iPhone LockScreen often haunts you…

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5 Tips to Make your iPhone Lock Screen Secure

Tip #1: Disallow Notifications from Your Personal Apps

Keeping some of your personal notifications away from the Lock screen can be a wise idea. Personally, I put the alerts from my shopping apps or tax apps away from LS to ensure the confidential info doesn’t get exposed. iOS lets you easily turn off alerts from respective apps. So, you won’t have any problems in taking firm control over them.

Settings → Notifications → App in question → Turn off the switch next to Allow Notifications.

Tip #2: Always Have Touch ID /Face ID or Passcode Enabled

Disable Face ID/Touch ID or passcode at your own peril. I believe they are the first line of defense and must be enabled to prevent the unauthorized access to your iPhone.

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For long Touch ID has been a gold standard. As far as Face ID is concerned, it’s said to be far safer than any other biometric authentications including Touch ID on mobile devices. Thus, it pays to make the most of them.

Tip #3: Disable Wallet and Siri Access from LockScreen

It’s nice to access your Wallet right from the Lock Screen instantly. However, if you want to offer the maximum shield to your personal data, it would be better to disable its access from LS.

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Same goes for Siri. It’s indeed very helpful to instantly trigger the personal assistant from Lock Screen. If you are in a hurry and wish to get your work done faster, this feature does speed up the whole process by cutting down unnecessary steps. But if your priority is to provide a complete defense to your personal info, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to disable its assess as well. Head to Settings → Face/Touch ID & Passcode → Scroll down to Allow Access when Locked section and then toggle off the switches for Siri and Wallet.

You can choose to turn off the access to several features like Notification Center, Control Center, Today View, Return Missed Calls, Home Control, etc.

Make sure to keep the USB Accessories switch disabled. When the USB Restricted Mode is enabled, you have to authenticate your device if it hasn’t been unlocked for an hour before syncing with the computer.

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Tip #4: Turn Off Siri Lock Screen Suggestions

With iOS 12, Siri offers suggestions on the Lock screen based on the way you use a particular app. For instance, if you use a Yoga app every day in the evening, the personal assistant will send you notification around the same time so that you don’t miss it.

I find it very helpful as it ensures you don’t forget to do something that’s really important to you. However, I don’t want it to offer suggestions on LS about each and every app that I use.

Tip #5: Customize the LockScreen Widgets

iOS lets you ideally customize the Lock screen widgets. Hence, you can remove the ones you no longer want to show on LS and allow only selected ones to keep you posted. Again, removing the widgets from some of your personal apps can be worth a consideration.

Head over to Lock screen and tap on Edit button. Then, tap on the red button to the left of the widget you want to remove and tap on the “+” to the left of the widget you wish to include. In the end, be sure to tap on Done to confirm the change.

That’s pretty much it!

Wrapping up

Have any question? You are welcome to shoot it in the comments. Besides, do toss up some of the other ways to protect LS.

Jignesh Padhiyar is the co-founder of iGeeksBlog.com who has a keen eye for news, rumors and all the unusual stuff that happens around Apple products. During his tight schedule, Jignesh finds some moments of respite to share side-splitting contents on social media.